Angelina Jolie donates $50,000 to charity in honor of wounded teen

Angelina Jolie has made a $50,000 donation towards girls’ education in Pakistan in the name of a teenager shot by Taliban extremists.

The Hollywood actress recently wrote an article giving her response to the attack on 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai, revealing she was horrified by the incident earlier this month that left the Pakistani schoolgirl fighting for her life in hospital.

Yousafzai campaigned for girls’ rights to education and wrote a diary about life under the Taliban for Britain’s BBC, and now Jolie has thrown her support behind the issue by handing $50,000 to the Women in the World Foundation.

The money, donated through Jolie’s charity initiative the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, will go towards setting up an award in Yousafzai’s honour to provide funds for females fighting for education rights in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

A joint statement from Jolie and Women in the World Foundation founder Tina Brown reads, “We are sure you have been shaken by the news that last week, 14-year old Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban as she left school in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. Her crime was promoting girls’ education in Pakistan… As a response to Malala’s bravery, girls across Pakistan, Afghanistan and the world are standing up and saying, ‘I am Malala’ – and this is our opportunity to show the same solidarity.”

Kim Azzarelli, president of the Women in the World Foundation, adds, “Ms. Jolie’s Education Partnership for Children of Conflict will contribute the first $50,000 to this effort. Let’s do everything we can to support these girls in securing this most basic right.”